Dwyane Wade stars as Miami rout the Golden State Warriors
Dwyane Wade is fast becoming the nemesis for the Golden State Warriors.
The 6ft 4in guard was averaging 34.4 points in his last five meetings versus the Warriors coming into the match, and on Friday night he let it rip again as he nailed 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, to guide the Miami Heat to their best-ever run
with seven consecutive double digit wins.
Both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade narrowly missed triple-doubles as the Miami Heat continued to impress, and have now surged to the top of the Southeast Division for the first time all season.
After a 6-2 start to the season the Golden state Warriors have now conceded their 11th game in their last 12 encounters, and have some serious questions to answer.
The Warriors though, were not dominated outright by the belligerent Heat firepower and kept pace with them throughout the first half. However the Warriors could not maintain their composure long enough, as the red hot Miami offence launched a brutal assault
in the third quarter, and caught the Warriors defence napping to run away with the match.
The Warriors came into the match without their phenomenal guard Stephen Curry, but they still managed to keep a tight leash on the Miami offence. The crowd cheered every point as the Golden State Warriors kept the Heat at bay, and were leading 17-16 in the
first with over four minutes left until the buzzer.
The Heat though were not in a mood to be pinned down, as they pulled a 12-3 breakaway run bridging the first and the second quarter, to romp to a 28-20 advantage two minutes into the second quarter. The Warriors however, sprung back immediately and made
it a single point game with a 7-0 push.
Miami maintained the upper hand right throughout the second quarter, but every time they nudged ahead the Warriors seemed to have an answer, as the game see-sawed one way and then the other.
In the second half though the Heat took to the court with an all together different intensity, and Chris Bosh opened the third quarter with a turnaround jump shot to spark a 18-3 run, as the Heat started to close the door on the Warriors. The Warriors tried
to rally, bouncing back with a nine point unanswered run but James came into action with three consecutive triple pointers to catch the Warriors in their strides, and after that it was all one way traffic.
The Heat outscored the Warriors 36-20 in the third period of play, and carried that momentum into the final quarter. Miami never let the Warriors off the hook, and Wade slipped two free throws with five minutes left on the clock, to hand them their biggest
advantage of the match at 100-72.
The Warriors netted seven unanswered points down the stretch to cut the deceit somewhat, but James Jones ripped in two three-pointers to seal the game at 106-84.
Monta Ellis led the Warriors charge with 20 points and seven assists. David Lee and Reggie Williams had 13 apiece, while Dorrell Wright notched up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. However the Warriors struggled because of their poor shooting
as they continue to slide further this season.
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